"Pitiable attempt" to woo women voters: Uddhav on Shinde govt's freebies

Mumbai: The opposition in Maharashtra on Friday targeted the Eknath Shinde government over its last budget before the state goes to the polls later this year, describing it as a "torrent of assurances" but said there was no clarity on how the money will be raised for the schemes announced.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who holds the finance portfolio, earlier in the day presented a Rs 20,051 crore revenue deficit budget in which he announced sops for women, youth and farmers and other segments of society that entail an outlay of more than Rs 80,000 crore.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said the budget was a "false narrative" pretending to offer something to every section of society.

Talking to reporters at the legislative complex here, the former chief minister said the 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin' scheme under which a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 would be given to the eligible women was a "pitiable attempt" to woo women voters ahead of the assembly elections.

Thackeray asked why similar allowance was not announced for men as unemployment was on the rise, and said nothing was being done to create jobs.

"The budget is a torrent of assurances. It is a fake attempt to take all sections of society along. It is what (deputy Chief Minister) Devendra Fadnavis calls 'false narrative'," Thackeray said.

A committee of experts should be formed to find out how many of the schemes announced by the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP 'Mahayuti' government in the last two years were implemented, said Thackeray.

There was no mention of how the funds would be raised, the former chief minister said.

On the waiver of electricity bills of farmers, Thackeray said although his demand in this regard was accepted by the government, his main demand that farmers be made debt-free remains unfulfilled.

The schemes announced in the budget would not help the ruling coalition as the people were waiting for assembly polls to defeat it, he said.

"Maharashtra is being looted, and those who are looting it will not be voted to power," Thackeray said.

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole too hit out at the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana asking what a sum of Rs 1,500 could do at the time of rising inflation.

Patole said the scheme to waive farmers' electricity bill is a farce, adding that the state government has ignored the woes of the people and the Congress' demand to waive farmers' loan completely on the lines of Telangana.

Mahesh Tapase, chief spokesperson of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, accused the government of financial mismanagement and highlighted that debt burden of the state has crossed Rs 7 lakh crore.

He questioned the feasibility of budgetary provisions given the debt burden and said the government had no strategy to attract business investment and reduce unemployment.

The populist but hollow promises would not sway the people ahead of the elections, Tapase added.

Ambadas Danve, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, dubbed the Maharashtra budget as "political hypnotism" and claimed regions like Marathwada and Vidarbha did not get anything.

"The state has announced so many schemes but there is a doubt about its implementation. This is more of 'political hypnotism'. After today's budget speech, it is clear that the government doesn't consider regions of Marathwada, Vidarbha as part of Maharashtra," he said on X.

The government will impose heavy taxes on the people through the committee formed for systematic implementation of schemes, alleged Danve, a top Shiv Sena (UBT) leader.